dum spiro spero
by the-girl-who-dreamt
Summary: AU. The last thing he saw before the world fell into blackness was the brightest pair of green eyes he had ever seen.
1. Chapter 1

dum spiro spero

Disclaimer: Sorry, folks. Teen Titans isn't mine.

Shouldn't be doing this, but the plot bunnies were waging war. I didn't stand a chance.

The title is a Latin phrase which means "while I breathe, I hope." Why is it that all of my stories have titles that start with the letter _d_? ಠ_ಠ

Anyway, this story is an AU. More notes at the end.

* * *

_"Give up! Escape is impossible! You'll die in this ship, Red X!"_

_"You underestimate me. . . . Here's a little clue for you – me killing all your men."_

* * *

He dreams of that night.

He dreams of the crowbar clawing viciously through his skin, again and again, tugging relentlessly at his flesh as a mother would her dying child, desperate to not be parted.

He wants nothing more than to just let his body slip away, to escape the teeth of the metal digging into his flesh, the copper scent of his own blood invading his nostrils, the unbearable, agonizing, _excruciating _pain.

He tries to crawl away, but the tattered remains of his black and yellow cape that hung pathetically from his shoulders is soon yanked, dragging him back to the maniac's feet.

He writhes and cries against the torrent of agony. Twists and struggles as the vile show repeats, over and over.

He dreams of laughter. It is what angers and terrifies him, digs into him more than the bitterly cold metal.

The incessant laughter buries itself into his mind, the unnatural sound peeling away at his sanity even more than the raw pain that has paired itself to him in the midst of the beating that is being given to him. It's a horrible sound, high and wheezing, yet dark and demanding; the low chortles thrown in make it unbearable. But the worst part of it is that it's _real_.

He dreams of pain.

His shoulders ache in their sockets, straining against the tight tugging of his bonds, throbbing with objection at their position; pinned snuggly underneath him. Blood seeps from the gaping gouges left behind from the scrape of the crowbar, the liquid blending into the deep red of his uniform, melding so well it's almost as if it's not there at all. His stomach knots and he can still feel the ghost of the crowbar against his body even after it breaks contact with his skin. His ribcage constricts tightly around his rapidly filling lungs, every breath bringing the snapped and splintered bones closer to the delicate organs.

This pain is worse by far than white hot flames licking his bare skin. Worse by far than his voice box slamming into the back of his throat, pinching shut his airways. Worse by far than the needle-sharp spoke of an umbrella impaling the skin, bones, muscles, and nerves just centimeters above his heart.

He dreams of betrayal – of blonde curls and the face of a woman who was never his mother.

He dreams of disappointment – he will never grow old, will never go to college, will never go to his own graduation, will never fall in love, will never walk down the aisle, will never have children of his own, will never again fly over the rooftops, will never reach his dreams, will never _find out _his dreams.

He dreams of regret – he never even had the chance to say _goodbye_.

He dreams of the beeping, of a clock counting down.

He's dying. He's alone. He's scared.

_He's so scared_.

A flash of bright light, darkness swimming into view. . . .

And then everything was gone.

* * *

The first thing Red X felt that was unimpeded by a mental fog was a burning sensation in his lungs. His mind was awake, almost hyper-aware. Every nerve felt like it was on fire. There was the sound of someone screaming, but it couldn't have been him. Not him. You need air to scream, and he had none.

He felt as though he was deep underwater, floating in the midst of a sea of liquid darkness in-between the deep depths and the unseen surface.

Where was he?

A trickle of warm sweat trailed from his temple down the side of his face. His heart was pounding as he gasped for air, reveling in the sweet oxygen that entered his lungs.

There was a voice coming towards him, a voice like golden wind chimes speaking in a language he couldn't quite make out, along with the sound of constant beeping of some sort of monitoring equipment.

He felt someone kneel beside him and a cool, wet cloth on his forehead.

Slowly, he managed to open his eyes, enough to see the blurry image of a woman's face bent over him.

"Where . . .?"

His hand went flying to his throat at the rough sound it made, but delicate fingers stopped him, slipping into the gaps between his.

The bleary figure spoke again, but he didn't understand a word she said. No matter how soothing her accented voice was, he couldn't help but feel afraid. He was often afraid, he realized with a pang of disgust, but he didn't want to dwell on that.

His eyelids were getting heavier by the second and the soft hand stroking his cheek wasn't exactly helping matters. Unable to help himself, he leaned into her touch and slowly let his hazy vision fade away.

The last thing he saw before the world fell into blackness was the brightest pair of green eyes he had ever seen.

* * *

Hey, guys! So, yes, I _know_ I shouldn't be doing this, but I couldn't help myself. The idea for this story came to me while I was writing half of the second chapter of Domino Effect, so you can blame this latest project for the delay. That, plus exams came up (cross your fingers and hope I pass!) and I'm also a total procrastinator (proofreading is just so tedious – guys, how can you stand it?). I _will_ be updating DE soon, I promise. Hopefully I'll have the next chapter posted before the end of the week.

Anyway, I realize this chapter is kind of confusing and doesn't really explain much, so let me clue you in: this is an AU where the Titans never met. The basic premise is Starfire, having just escaped the Gordonians, adjusting to her new life on Earth with Red X instead of the Titans because, for reasons to be explained, the episode _Go! _didn't happen and so the Titans was never formed. You'll get more details about Starfire, how Red X ends up here, and what exactly is going on in the next chapter. Everything will make much more sense then.

Just so no one gets the wrong idea, Robin is _not_ Red X in this story, but you will be seeing him soon, along with Raven, Cyborg, and Beast Boy. All in due time.

So what did you think of the first chapter? Feel free to drop a review and tell me what you think.


	2. Chapter 2

dum spiro spero

A big shout out to everyone who reviewed, favorite'd, and followed this story already! You guys are amazing.

* * *

His eyes were strange; she didn't know how else to describe them. They were so pale, yet at the same time full of color and depth, mostly blue, but also light green. They were vaguely clouded, too, and the opacity of his eyes had startled her when he first blinked them open.

She had never before seen anything like it. Other races had eyes of an almost similar color, but nothing quite like his. She knew that pale eyes indicated blindness for some species and she idly wondered if the same thing applied on Earth.

She watched silently as her patient slowly fell asleep, listening to the steady, calming rhythm of his breathing.

He was awfully handsome, she decided, and she couldn't help but gently run her fingers on the few scars marring his face. Whatever happened to him had happened with enough time for them to heal.

There was, however, the large Y-shaped scar that began at the edge of his collarbones and met at the middle of his chest. She frowned, fingers hovering over the faint mark.

What had happened to him? He had more battle scars than she did.

Perhaps the people of Earth – what did the computer say they were called again? – were warriors like her people. Or maybe it was just the man – a soldier? That would certainly explain the stranger's countless scars. But then, how did he end up in the middle of the ocean?

She remembered when she first saw him. It had been a few days ago. She had been merely flying over her island, watching the sun rise above the horizon as was her custom, when she saw him, floating on the water, unconscious and injured. She had hurriedly carried him inside her ship, using whatever she could find to heal the man's wounds. She had been lucky to stumble upon a rather extensive first aid kit aboard the stolen ship. Never before had she imagined herself to be so thankful for the Gordonians.

She hoped that wounds like his were not common among the people of Earth. She didn't know much about the planet, her _k'norfka_ had told her nothing of it. In Tamaran, they were only told stories of great battles, planets that were frequently in war, and the tales of mighty races known for both noble and infamous deeds in and out of the Vegan system. She had assumed that Earth was a peaceful planet; it was why she had chosen it as her destination when she escaped her captors.

But she supposed, peaceful or not, it didn't really matter. She had been stranded in this island for several Earth days, so much so that she had already lost count, and she had yet to explore the planet. Though she certainly had the means to leave the island, she didn't want to risk entering an unknown territory without any knowledge whatsoever of the area or whatever Earth things that they had here. It was why she had been alone after all this time. The man was the first . . . _Earthling_ she had ever encountered.

Although, she conceded as she inspected his face, he was more of a boy than a man. He was around her age, she guessed. Physically, at least; she didn't know how Earth cycles worked.

_Still . . ._

She sighed, staring forlornly at the stranger as she played with the white streak on his hair. Whoever he was, no one deserved to go through what he did.

* * *

The first thing Red X noticed when he next awoke was that his head hurt. Rubbing sleep from his eyes, he reluctantly sat up. He immediately realized that this was a bad idea as his head throbbed even harder in protest. His fingers flew to his aching cranium and held it, groaning as he did.

_Ow. Seriously, what did I drink last night?_

The second thing he noticed was the beeping. Blinking several times, he stared speechlessly at the strange equipment at his bedside, noting its incessant beeping that wasn't helping at all with his already pounding head.

The third thing he noticed was the room. It was bigger, the walls bare of his various band posters. He didn't remember his room being this empty and spacious.

And his bed. He definitely remembered having a bed and an actual blanket that wasn't made of leaves.

When he turned his head slightly to look out the open window, he saw that the view outside was unfamiliar as well.

This definitely wasn't his apartment.

For that matter, he wasn't even at all sure he was still in the United States. Probably not, if the language the woman had been speaking was any indication.

The woman.

Snapshots of what happened yesterday hit him in full force, the cascade of memories nearly drowning him.

_Nuclear weapons. Smuggling. Miami. Submarine. Explosion. Right._

So he hadn't been dreaming. And he wasn't dead. He was still alive. That was good.

But where on earth was he?

And where the hell was his shirt?

Grateful that the throbbing in his head has subsided somewhat, Red X shakily stood up from the makeshift bed, careful to make as little noise as possible.

He had to get out of here, wherever _here_ was. Never mind that he still wasn't sure _how_ he planned on accomplishing that, but he'll deal with that later. Right now, the important thing was to get away as fast as he could before the woman found out he had left in the first place. The woman, whoever she was, might have saved his life, but he didn't know what her intentions were and for all he knew, she could be dangerous. With him being currently vulnerable, absolutely clueless about the situation, and having no way of knowing how he could possibly get the upper hand, there was no way he was going to risk it.

Red X started down a small winding path, pushing bushes and branches out of his way as he passed by, looking everything over and squinting as the sun beat down on him.

For a while, he walked and explored the island, following whichever direction his feet led him as he tried to formulate a plan, but it was no use. He was going around in circles. He had no idea where he was, his shirt was gone, he had yet to find his mask, and his belt was missing.

Not that his belt would have been much use to him, he amended. He had already been running low on xenothium when he took on those smugglers; the remaining juice, if he hadn't drained it all up when he teleported away from the explosion, would have been useless.

This was exactly why he hated playing the hero. No good ever comes out of it for him. Next time, he ought to just wait for the next shipment of xenothium in Jump to refill his supply, instead of leaving the city to go looking for the compound and then going out of his way to do the stuff those tights-wearing, chest-puffing idiots seem to be so fond of.

He sighed, running a hand through his hair as he looked around. All around him, lush green plant-life was growing, and bright burst of flowers could be seen everywhere. Everything looked exactly alike.

Great, now he was lost, too.

Growling at his own stupidity – he really shouldn't have left, screw his paranoia – he stepped out of the bushes, and his scowl fell as he promptly stopped in his tracks.

"Woah."

He was standing on a small cliff like ledge, a flimsy looking bridge connecting the edge to a huge alien ship. And there, on the other side of the bridge, was the orange chick.

He didn't know what surprised him more, the ship or the fact that upon seeing him, the woman _flew _towards him and landed gracefully on her feet directly opposite him.

Seeing her up close, he realized that she wasn't exactly a woman. She couldn't have been any older than he was. Tall with thick, vibrant red hair, she was dressed in purple armor that barely hid her Barbie-shaped figure and glowing orange toned skin. It was her eyes that caught his attention the most; they were so green that, had he been the type to wax poetry, he would've said they were the purest shade of emerald or something cheesy like that. He was astounded to see that even her corneas were green, albeit a lighter shade than her irises.

As Red X felt a small smirk curve unto his lips when he noticed the girl smiling sweetly at him, he felt this was suspiciously similar to those scenes in the movies where the two main characters meet for the first time – the handsome, dashing hero meets the beautiful, captivating leading lady. How predictable.

And then she spoke and the moment was gone.

"En na'y g'atac un twakaa?"

Red X blinked, completely taken aback.

"Uh . . . sorry, cutie," he said. "I don't speak . . . whatever that is."

"Ya'aya t'hay it'zax?"

"No, I . . . do you speak any English?"

The girl cocked her head to the side in a confused manner.

"Utza kan'ak?"

"I'm taking that as a no. Um . . . Parlez-vous français? Parla Italiano? Sprechen Sie deutsch? I'm guessing you don't speak Russian either."

She gave no sign she recognized a single word he uttered, just regarded him curiously.

"Okay, then . . . let's try something a little simpler." He then placed his hands on his chest, trying to mimic the classic me-Tarzan-you-Jane scenario. "My name is Red X. Red . . . X."

Her strange eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Red . . . eks?"

"Yes. Red X. That's me," he said, smiling. "And you, princess? What is your name?"

He then pointed towards her with both his hands.

The alien pointed to herself with her index finger, still looking quite confused, and he nodded. Her expression cleared in realization. "Oh! Koriand'r."

"Kori Anders? Sounds American."

"Koriand'r." she corrected him with an amused smile.

"Okay, Koriand'r. Kori. Wow. Um, I'm not sure what to do next. The movies usually don't go any further than this."

"Bw'alla en'ay, Red X?" the unintelligible girl said as she took a few steps closer, now being within arm's reach of him.

"Um, yes. Okay. See, I still don't understand your language."

"Hurah gu'tal tar'rek, cusa bu'al."

"Yeah, sure. Listen, maybe we could use – HMMPH!?"

Faster than he could react, the alien girl brought her hand up to the back of his head and crushed her lips to his.

At first Red X tried to protest against the kiss, but her grip was surprisingly strong and his inner man got the best of him very quickly. It wasn't a very involved kiss – more of a prolonged, glorified peck, actually – but he wasn't hating it that much, as he was acutely aware that she was kind of pretty, potential threat or not, so he just went with it, taking in the feeling of the girl's soft lips against his. He didn't know how long it lasted, could have been seconds, could have been hours, but after a moment their lips broke apart with a low smacking sound.

"Greetings, friend!" the orange girl said brightly. "Now we may properly do the talking."

Red X gaped at her soundlessly for a moment, his mind having blanked for a second before rewiring and turning back on. He desperately wished that he was wearing his mask; he couldn't remember the last time he tripped over himself in front of an attractive girl or being this caught off guard before. What happened to all his wit and charm?

"You . . . you speak English?"

"I do now. My species can psionically assimilate any verbal language by the means of lip contact," she said. "I am Princess Koriand'r of the planet Tamaran. In your language, I believe my name would be Starfire."

"Starfire. . . ." he said, trying the name on his tongue.

The girl – Starfire – nodded, still beaming. "And you are the Red X, yes? What a most strange name. Please, do the people of Earth have similar monikers?"

"It's not really my name, more of a codename."

"A . . . codename." Starfire repeated as she thought about it. "A name assigned to conceal the real identity of a person, as a spy, or to conceal the existence of a plan. . . ."

"Couldn't have said it better myself, cutie."

Starfire was still smiling and he couldn't help but smile back at her.

"Come, friend! I must do the welcoming you to my home," she said cheerfully as she tugged him forward, floating a few inches from the ground.

Red X was hesitant to follow at first, years of training reminding at him all of the don'ts of the situation, but he completely ignored all of it. If Starfire wanted to kill him, she would have done it earlier. He had no doubt that she could take him down instantly, especially now that he had none of his gadgets at his disposal. Besides, if she really was out to harm him, why would she go through all that trouble of saving his life?

She led him inside the ship which, given its peeling paint, broken parts, and the missing wall, had obviously seen better days. The torn part of the ship gave him a spectacular view of the island, all set against the horizon of the clear blue waters of the ocean lapping quietly against the glowing white sands of the shore.

"I don't mean to be impolite, seeing as it's you I have you to thank for fishing me out of the ocean and bandaging me up again," said Red X as he inspected the place carefully, "but this place feels less like a 'home' and more like a hideaway. And unless you're decorating in 'early American shipwreck', I'm assuming this place crashed to earth without anyone ever knowing about it. So, I'm guessing – cloaking device? And a strong one at that. What are the other features? What's the power source? How long has it been here? Does it give off radiation? Is it self-adapting technology?"

Starfire's face instantly dimmed and she smiled uncertainly, staring at him with a calculated expression. "It is – it is most glorious that you are getting your strength back."

Red X smiled apologetically. "Sorry, I'm talking too much. I've just never met an alien before and here you are being polite and I'm treating you like my personal copy of National Geographic. Let me start over." He extended his hand toward her. "Thank you, Princess Koriand'r, for saving my life."

Starfire dropped her eyes to his hand, staring at it curiously.

"It's . . . an Earth custom," he explained. "It's what we do when we meet someone, say thank you, or make a deal."

Starfire visibly brightened as she took his hand in hers.

"You are forgiven, friend." she said. "Let us go. You must be hungry, yes?"

* * *

I don't speak a word of Tamaranean, so sorry if the dialogue is weird; most of it is the result of my head bashing against the keyboard repeatedly.

As for Red X's eyes, I like the idea of him having grey eyes because it suits his personality, but I honestly think green looks better on him even if my headcanon says they're blue. I couldn't decide which color to give him, so I used all. If you have a hard time imagining it, think of Benedict Cumberbatch's eyes. Just watch Sherlock; his eyes constantly change color depending on the lighting. It's awesome.

Anyway, imaginary cookies to everyone who reviews and tells me their thoughts on this chapter. See you guys soon.


End file.
